All Kind Automotive

Flash forward to 2011. At the Essen Motor Show in December of last year, European specialist coachbuilder Binz announced the Xtend E-Class estate, and now the car has entered production. By slotting in an extra 861 mm between the rear doors and rear axle, Binz have extended the estate’s cargo volume to a whopping 2620 litres. That’s better than some vans.

We’ve also included the “Third man” commercial from a few years back, in which the “New Flying Finn” trumps the younger Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. You can watch both videos after the jump.

In addition to these standard upgrades, Mercedes-Benz is also offering new optional appointments with the introduction of the "Designo Leather II" in which the lower section of the dashboard, the glove compartment lid, the door linings including map pockets and the side upholstery of the centre console are covered in exclusive nappa leather.

While you think about it let us tell you that, as with the first installment of the male-snoozefest that is "Sex and the City", the sequel to the movie that hits cinemas on 27 May will see most characters driving or being driven in a bunch of Mercedes-Benz and Maybach models.

Also part of the package are Vorsteiner's forged V-308 rims, which have an interesting claim to fame if you take Vorsteiner at their word: they're "the most concave wheel available on the market". Hey, whatever helps you stand out.

Owners can get new front/rear bumpers (€599 each), side skirts (€349), and roof/trunk spoilers (€199 each) made from Duraflex (other materials optional). Fog lamps for the new front bumper are €249.

The E-Class limo also adopts a 6-door configuration and three rows of seats, increasing passenger capacity to seven (including the driver). In addition, the two individual middle row seats can be placed to face forward or backward.

Other than that, what do you need to know? Not much, actually. The car's length, wheelbase, and rear legroom have increase by 14 cm (5.5 inches) and the front seats can be controlled from the back (so don't let jerks sit in the back...).

Starting with the engine upgrades, the most powerful option is for the E500 (E550 in the U.S.A.) Convertible. The stock 388HP 5.5-liter V8 unit is bored out to 6.1-liters, while the conversion also includes new cylinder heads and camshafts, a custom exhaust system and catalyst as well as a recalibrated ECU.

The result is an overall output of 462HP and 615Nm (453-lb-ft) of peak torque, for a 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph).

Available for the E 250 CDI, E 350 CDI, E 250 CGI and E 350 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY models as well as for the E 500, all Prime Edition models come with a unique tenorite grey metallic paintwork and AMG 6-twin-spoke light-alloy wheels.